Game On: 'The Orange Box'

Published 10:00 pm, Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Rating: Teen-Mature Platform: PS3, PC, Xbox 360

When was the last time you felt great having spent $60 on a game?

If this is a relatively rare occurrence, let me introduce you to "The Orange Box," some of the best money you're likely to ever spend. Both the PC version and Xbox 360 package includes "Half-Life 2," both episodic sequels including the brand-new "Episode Two," plus "Portal" and "Team Fortress 2."

"Half-Life 2," for the uninitiated, is the 2004 sequel to 1998's "Half-Life." Playing through the game again, I remembered why it blew me away in the first place. These two games revolutionized the shooter genre by incorporating clever, well-balanced puzzles, top-notch graphics and characters you actually cared about. If you don't already know the multilayered storyline of theoretical physicist Gordon Freeman's battle to save Earth, I envy the experience ahead of you.

Console players get the sweetest deal -- None of these masterworks from Bellevue-based developer Valve have been on next-gen systems before. The previously released "Half-Life 2" and "Episode One" benefit from improved lighting and shadow effects and even more lifelike facial animations.

Under no circumstances should you consider "Portal" a minor addition to "The Orange Box." It would have been satisfying if this was the main event. The game takes place in a research lab with a conniving A.I. as the player's guide.

Using a device that creates portals, the goal is to navigate through increasingly complex and dangerous areas. One portal is an entry point and the other is an exit. While it's initially disorienting, the experience ends up being deliriously exciting.

"Team Fortress 2" rounds out the proceedings in high style. Imagine the class-based multiplayer action of the "Battlefield" series with an art style reminiscent of vintage Warner Bros. cartoons. The nine different characters give plenty of variety to the tightly tuned online battles.